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It's possible to be technically correct but still be an asshole. Making use of the ability to employ considerable resources to reduce your corporation's tax bu

by Jochim 6y ago

It's possible to be technically correct but still be an asshole. Making use of the ability to employ considerable resources to reduce your corporation's tax burden in ways that organisations without those resources cannot is absolutely a violation of the social contract surrounding taxation, which typically follows the convention that those who profit the most from society should return the most. As a result it's no longer shrewd but immoral.

t-writescode 6y ago
Even if the tax structure they're using enables them to hire more employees so those employees can survive more comfortably?
- Jochim 6y ago
  That assumes that they need more employees in the first place. Even then I don't believe companies hiring more employees is necessarily a good thing, unless you believe in work for work's sake. Robust corporate taxation pays for decent social safety nets/UBI, such that people aren't at the mercy of the whims of whatever mega-corp they're dependent upon for survival. This has the added benefit of naturally improving wages and worker's rights, while allowing for the removal of a minimum wage. It also has the added benefit of decoupling artistic expression from corporate funding.
  - t-writescode 6y ago
    Do you think your arguments against the tax code and increased employment presuppose a more perfect world than we have and increased employment could be considered an intermediate step along the way? That is, right now, we don't have UBI and the safety net, at least in the US, is very weak, so employment and decreased unemployment _are_ necessary for the time being and the ideal state described here is many more steps away than the current status quo.
    - Jochim 6y ago
      I think increased employment would have a negative effect on the road to that more perfect world by masking the underlying issues. Pursuing increased employment as the goal distracts from the real changes that have to be made in order to facilitate those social safety nets, since these inevitably require raising taxes in order to fund them. The efficacy of job creation through tax cuts is also a matter of debate. This article[1] (which appears fairly well sourced) seems to imply that the expansion of unemployment benefits is at least as effective as cutting corporate taxes and potentially more so when taxes are already low. [1] https://www.thebalance.com/do-tax-cuts-create-jobs-3306325 https://www.thebalance.com/do-tax-cuts-create-jobs-3306325

by Jochim 6y ago

t-writescode 6y ago

Even if the tax structure they're using enables them to hire more employees so those employees can survive more comfortably?

Jochim 6y ago
That assumes that they need more employees in the first place. Even then I don't believe companies hiring more employees is necessarily a good thing, unless you believe in work for work's sake. Robust corporate taxation pays for decent social safety nets/UBI, such that people aren't at the mercy of the whims of whatever mega-corp they're dependent upon for survival. This has the added benefit of naturally improving wages and worker's rights, while allowing for the removal of a minimum wage. It also has the added benefit of decoupling artistic expression from corporate funding.
- t-writescode 6y ago
  Do you think your arguments against the tax code and increased employment presuppose a more perfect world than we have and increased employment could be considered an intermediate step along the way? That is, right now, we don't have UBI and the safety net, at least in the US, is very weak, so employment and decreased unemployment _are_ necessary for the time being and the ideal state described here is many more steps away than the current status quo.
  - Jochim 6y ago
    I think increased employment would have a negative effect on the road to that more perfect world by masking the underlying issues. Pursuing increased employment as the goal distracts from the real changes that have to be made in order to facilitate those social safety nets, since these inevitably require raising taxes in order to fund them. The efficacy of job creation through tax cuts is also a matter of debate. This article[1] (which appears fairly well sourced) seems to imply that the expansion of unemployment benefits is at least as effective as cutting corporate taxes and potentially more so when taxes are already low. [1] https://www.thebalance.com/do-tax-cuts-create-jobs-3306325 https://www.thebalance.com/do-tax-cuts-create-jobs-3306325